Carpenter coming back DOES concern me.

No worries about Bob either way - we could do a lot worse, but then again, we could do better too - but the no Charlie/Dave thing really bothers me.

Too bad Dan Shulman turned them down, I've always enjoyed watching games he broadcasts for ESPN. I think he's one of their most underrated broadcasters...

Interesting that Carpenter appears back in the picture as the NLCS wraps up. I wonder if they offered it to Chip Caray and he passed?

Just idle speculation...

I like all three of them--Carpenter, Slowes, and Jageler--and would hate to see any of them gone.

Charlie and Dave are good. Wonder if they're receiving offers from other teams?

The Carpenter situation seems needlessly awkward. Just as it's usually not a good idea to quit a job when you don't have another job to go to, it's often unwise to let someone go (even if they're Ron Darling) if you don't have a clear idea as to their replacement.

Carpenter has his detractors, but I'm not one of them. Nats, let's get him signed and get this over with (oh, and Charlie and Dave, too, while we're at it).

406, you speak for many, many of us who have flamed MASN & Nats hierarchy on our excellent, light-hearted announcers. Our broadcasts on TV and radio are better than the Fox National TV broadcasts by Joe Buck, with his voice made of the straightest, strongest steel, and Tim McCarver's ditherings. We need continuity here. Ditching Carpenter also reflects very badly on Don Sutton, who stabbed his colleague Bob in the back mid-season as was documented in Leonard Shapiro's reporting. No need to remind us of how slimy this was by making the wound mortal.

The real story here is whether or not the Nationals radio broadcasts will be heard on the Eastern Shore where many, many, many Washington fans go during warm summer weekends.

Why can't we hear the Nats on the radio on the eastern shore???!

Let's hope Charlie & Dave stay.

So far, my MVP of the ALCS is Rafael Betancourt, who has pitched 7 1/3rd shutout innings allowing only 2 hits, with rookie reliever Jensen Lewis and SS Jhonny "Thunderstick" Peralta close seconds. If the Tribe wins. Anyone know whether the game tonight would've been rained out anyhow, and what the prospects are for tomorrow night being rained out?

PLEASE let's keep Charlie & Dave!!!!

Last one was me. Beckett for MVP if Sawx get that star shining in the east, a la 2004.

How can the Nats be expected to deal with this minor stuff when they are struggling with the monumental task of getting new seat assignments for the 15K of us who signed up day #1 for '05, and hung on since? Just got the memo that it may take a little longer, 'cause it is so hard.

No rain forecast for Cleveland tonight.

Showers possible tomorrow and Friday in Boston.

Damn! So they're waiting to play game 3 even though it is more likely to rain! We can all go to the Post's Nationals page and warm ourselves by the genial image of The Yule Log, formerly known as The Meat Hook.

It is absolutly nutty that while I was vacationing at the Outer Banks, I got Orioles games loud and clear from Norfolk, VA but had to strain to hear 3WT. Some nights the wave propagation was just right and 3WT was lound and clear, but for Heaven's sake, let's get some Eastern Shore, Southern Virginia, Western Maryland affiliates. Please!

...and Charlie and Dave are great! ...and keep Carpy unless you can sign GW Grad Mike Patrick!

Speaking of hanging on, that was a great shot of Paul Byrd on TV last night(sound off to listen to Jon Miller on AM 1000 from Chicago) hanging from the dugout roof during the 11 or so batter 5th inning, trying to keep his shoulder loose. It didn't work. He came out and gave up the two homers. Byrd is really an everyman, with his Garrison Keillor face "made for radio," his 16 for 19 first strikes, and his apparent indifference to the dire predictions the experts. Kinda like the Nats.

Absolute yes to Charlie and Dave and Bob coming back. Personally, I can't understand all the negativity toward Carpenter. I really enjoyed listening to him this season and thought he worked well with Sutton. Does he say some dumb things from time to time? Sure. But you put Vin Scully on there 162 times a year covering a live event without a script for three-plus hours and tell me a few dumb things don't get said. Dan Shulman? Give me a break! Bland, bland, bland.

I was such a Red Sox fan. I lived there, went to Fenway, etc. They were at the time a big market team that acted like a small market team, and easy to embrace as underdogs. I have noticed a tendency in myself to pull for the underdog, and defined that by low payroll. I wonder if this is accurate, though. Dave/Barry said something that set me to thinking. All a high payroll means in baseball is that a team has decided to keep a lot of likeable veterans around. As Webb and the other young Diamondbacks, the young Rockies studs, and the Tribe youngsters get eligible for free agency, the same teams will become "evil empires" for keeping the players that underdog-lovers root for now. It's more accurate, and far less appealing, to say that you are rooting for youth against age. Also accurate, and more appealing, to say that you are rooting for poor cities against rich cities. What do people in Cleveland, Detroit or New Orleans have except their sports teams? I'm sure Cleveland and Detroit have wonderful people, but lots of them have or will be laid off by auto-makers and related industries. And New Orleans' wonderful people have been dealt a blow such as we've never seen in modern American times. Rooting passionately is such fun, maybe I murder to dissect.

"unless you can sign GW Grad Mike Patrick!"

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

I can vouch for Robinson, if needed. But he doesn't need it. Hes a great guy, too!!!

I'm not opposed to Carpenter although I think that his "value over replacement announcer" is not very high.

I am opposed to changing the team in the booth every year, or every other year, or even every few years. They need to find a team and stick to it. If that team is Carpenter/Sutton, fine. Not great, but fine. Announcers all have quirks that can be annoying but eventually they become your announcers and you deal with them warts and all (like Harry Caray pointing out women's hats in the crowd and missing entire plays, or forgetting he was on radio instead of television in the middle innings and saying things like "Hey, how about THAT!!!" without describing whatever just happened on the field).

It would be great, though, if we could pair a smart young Costas type from this area (not sure one exists) with a baseball guy like Charlie Steiner. That kind of team would be appropriate for a contender in the Nation's Capital.

Flynnie, it's not just payroll. The D-backs would sign veterans that have a history with the team. The Sox and the Yanks are notorious for poaching other cities' likable young talent.

If the Sox had anyone on their blockbuster team that they had really raised and cultivated instead of snagging for big $$$ from someone else, I would feel a lot more friendly to them.

506: Lester, Papelbon, Pedroia, to name just three. That said, your point is well taken.

And an ironic side note: Anyone not think that the Pinstripes are going to put some good young homegrown pitching out there in '08? (They'll need it, especially if the sluggers abandon ship.)

Good-eye, 506, as usual. Yankees are an all-star fantasy team, and maybe the Sawx are, too, although I wonder where that 103 million they paid for Dice-K is going to come from. (What was Theo thinking? If he insisted on Big Papi and Manny taking a little batting practice 1st, that $ would still be in his pocket, and Dice-K would not be on the verge of sepoku.) The advantage of the rich is that their mistakes can be correced with money. (Remember the Yankee's equivalent of Dice-K? The big sinker-baller from Japan. I forget his name. And so do the Yankees. Whereas the twins could not afford such a mistake.) I think you have explained my passion for The Tribe and the small payroll. But likeable veterans must love the Yankees for making them richer than God.

Hendo, I knew someone would call me out on that, figures it would be you!

Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, Manny Ramirez, Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling are a few that run the other way. Also, did you know that Royce Clayton is on Boston's 40-man?

1. Since the baseball wise men (I.e., Post reporters) expect the series will return to Boston, put your money on Cleveland ending it all tomorrow, folks. Remember, reporters are among the dumbest of our species, and they prove it every day. Just pick up your local paper.

2. Another reason to expect the series to end in Cleveland. Manny's irritating performance for the cameras: posturing and strutting after his home run last night. Yes, it was mammoth, but, Manny, it only made the score 7-3. I am sure the Cleveland players took it all in and their reactions were likely not all warm and fuzzy and admiring like the Post's reporters.

Finally, wouldn't it be great to have Bob Costas as the series announcer and NBC the network carrying the games? But I dream on.

Oops. I see that Sheinen did pick up on Manny's antics. Yet he still picks Boston tomorrow night?

Don't believe for a minute Martinez' comment that he didn't pay attention, either.

I sure hope that Charlie and Dave are back! At the end of the season, it was sounding promising that they would be. What changed?

section 506 - you can add mike lowell, julio lugo, and coco crisp to that list of high priced (and not homegrown) players that the red sox acquired.

johnr - another reason to hedge your bets against the conventional wisdom tomorrow night is that it's hard to imagine sabathia having three straight poor post-season starts.

506: We're even. Turns out that a lot of the AFL players who are not on the 40-man rosters, and who I said were thus Rule 5 candidates, are exempt from Rule 5 because they don't have four years of service time.

That was a twist added in the 2006 CBA. (Used to be three years of service time.) I remember remarking at the time, as did many observers more astute than I, that that change would dry up the Rule 5 market.

Even so, there are some interesting Rule 5 candidates in AFL, just darned few of them.

And that the Red Sox roster contains many high-dollar free agents cannot be gainsaid.

Beyond the Arizona Fall League, does anyone know where other Nats (minor leaguers included) are playing this winter? Is there a list somewhere of who's playing where? I see from the MLB website that the Dominican Winter League opens tonight with Licey playing Escogido (the two Santo Domingo teams are major rivals), and the Venezuelan and Mexican leagues have been going for over a week now.

Bonneville,don't let Charlie and Dave get away! Please!

Carpenter, and Sutton too, for that matter, meh. Can take them or leave them, easily replaced. Low VORB indeed.

MASN, just run your business right for a change (can an Angelos production be run with integrity?). Don't jerk guys around. Lots of respect for the professionalism of Carpy after being undercut by Sutton then let go - oh, never mind - maybe - maybe not - uh, wait a sec, let me think - by MASN.

John R, if you're still there, I would go to Utrecht (but not Salzburg or Bayreuth) for choral music rather than the World Series. There is something chilling (in a good way i.e. goose-bumps) and beautiful and holy in great music that surpasses all other pleasures. As far as the play-offs coming to D.C. in our lifetimes, all the sabre-metricians in the world don't know, because blind sh-t-house luck is involved in predicing the performance of young athletes. But speaking of Bayreuth, when I was living in Boston, I came into the locker room of my health club after lifting and they had the finale of The Ring cycle on the TV. I was astonished to see the guys there transfixed, watching Wagner.

"October in Utrecht (sp?) is not my idea of a good time, especially with early music as the draw. Now Salzburg or Bayreuth, that's different.

Does your question suggest you are harboring thoughts of NL playoffs coming to D.C. in our lifetimes? That, folks, is the definition of an optimist.

Posted by: JohnR (VA) | October 16, 2007 08:10 PM "

Since we're talking about broadcast teams, what does everyone think of the tactic employed by several teams of having the broadcast teams split in-game time between radio and TV? I kinda like it. Announcing radio requires one to paint a verbal picture for the listener, greater attention to detail so your audience doesn't feel like they're missing anything by not seeing the action visually. It means your TV crew needs to have Radio experience as well and both Sutton and Carp do. I believe they actually have had experience in this kind of broadcasting arrangement as well. Not sure about Charlie and Dave but I tend to think it's easier to announce TV games if you've been on the Radio than the other way around.

Wasn't it fun to watch Tim Wakefield last night? That knuckleball floating in with no spin whatever, and moving from the hitter's shoulder to below his knees all in one swoop as it arrived at the plate. Jon Miller said, "Whoaa! With that much movement, the ump would normally want to see the ball! But there's a knuckleballer on the mound!"

Yes, good to see the knuckleball - just finished Jim Bouton's Ball Four, and it was like having a video to explain what he was talking about - conversely, having read his book, I could understand what Wakefield was pitching.

MKevin - Charlie did some TV games last year or the year before. The Nats had guest announcers on the radio, and it was interesting, but nowhere near as good as Charlie and Dave. Dave Johnson (the Wizards announcer), and I believe Frank Herzog (maybe dreaming here-I've had a soft spot for Frank since he got jobbed) did surprisingly credible jobs announcing baseball. I thought Charlie was better on the radio, and Carpy better on TV. Did you see them?

Traveler - My father-in-law graduated 1st in his med school class, so he's not dumb, and has a bronze star from crawing through a minefield and back to rescue his colleagues who had their legs blown off, so he's not mean-spirited. But he glowers when remembering trying to hit a knucleball. He swears that the physics of air movement make that un-spinning ball jump over the bat.

I don't chime in much, but just in case Stan is reading the comments: please oh please, bring back Charlie and Dave.

Please do keep Carpenter. Please, please, please, do not replace him with anybody who ever broadcast for FOX. And YES to Charlie and Dave.

And just because I'm on the topic let me express my opinion on Ron Darling. He was really bad his first few weeks with the Nats, but he must have worked very hard because he had become pretty good by the end of the year. Now he is a way above average analyst working for the Mets.

NatBisquit, when I first saw Ron Darling on the Mets broadcast, I didn't recognize the guy. Did you see him after Game 3 of the NLCS? "The elements, the intensity, the level of play, that game made me want to be back in uniform! And Cal, I know I speak for you here!" Cal goes on to agree. Who is this guy? I would have him tested. He's not the same Ron Darling who was down here, and he's even won an Emmy!

I am extremely unhappy about Carpenter coming back. He is horrible, he doesn't do his homework, and most importantly, he doesn't like the team. Any praise of the team is couched in a negative comment. I watch almost every game that I'm not at, and another summer listening to him brag on the other team and slurping Scott Rolen is not good news. I wonder how anyone who actually likes the team could ever stomach him.

From what I understand, Charlie and Dave were told that they were wanted back but no contracts have ever been offered. Not sure what that means. Charlie himself tells fans all the time that he wants to be back and is just waiting to hear back from the team. I'm hoping Charlie moves to TV and Carpenter is back in St. Louis with the team he actually likescome April.

Steve Phillips just taught me something.
The Rockies have the best fielding percentage IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL. They took 2 out of 3 at Fenway and would rather play the Sawx than the Indians.

Regarding RADIO broadcasts - 820AM in Frederick MD is a Bonneville station and carries the games. I have also picked them up on 1200 AM out of Loudoun Co. VA.
After a full year of TV and just a couple of months on 820 (I can't get the DC stations here), all I can say is just keep broadcasting!

If you guys didn't see it, the Build It Bigger episode on the new stadium was pretty sweet. It was on Discovery, not sure if they're airing it again, but worth a look just in case.

I am holding out for the Lerners to hire the best baseball broadcaster out there, namely Jon Miller, to do half the game on radio and half on TV. Other than him they can have anyone they want, although Sutton is pretty informative. Carpenter, Slowes and Jaegler are all fine, competent men suitable for a small market like Kansas City or Baltimore. But with a new stadium in the nation's capital, we need a huge broadcasting splash, and Miller would provide it -- as well as being a poke in the eye with a sharp stick to Czar Peter the Tiny of Baltimore. Then the sketchiness of the broadcast signal does need to be addressed on the Eastern Shore as well, but let's have the best possible broadcaster to fill it and build everything around him. Let Jon keep doing ESPN on Sunday nights as the Giants do, just get him for the other six.

slangist, why would Jon Miller want to work for Peter Angelos?

Dave/Barry, your readers hope the night off is restful and restorative! We cannot imagine how hard you work, and are grateful!

I'm for keeping both broadcast teams intact. In fact, the only one I had any qualms about (early on) is the one with the contract. I've really learned to appreciate Carpenter and Sutton after watching the playoffs. See you later!!

I want Charlie and Dave back because I like them and Carpenter because I think one more year might make a big difference in quality.

But, more importantly, I want all four broadcasters back because, for God's sake, I want SOMEBODY back next year.

I am tired, tired, tired of the constant turnover, it makes it real hard to build a relationship with the team. And since it sure doesn't look like the product on the field will return (maybe a good thing), we might as well take some stability in the broadcast booth.

Believe it or not (I barely do), I miss the cadence of Bob's voice when I watch baseball. I am more ambivalent to the statements by that voice, but when I think of the Nats on TV, I think of that voice. And to replace it with any other would be a reboot. One day that will be necessary, but why now when building loyalty is so key and there's not a lot of branding going on anywhere else in the franchise?

flynnie- jon miller didn't want to work for angelos after angelos dithered over rehiring him to do orioles radio, so he went to san francisco.

I'm with G-town:

If you didn't get a chance to watch or record the "Build It Bigger" episode on Discovery Channel, do your best search to record it at some point in the future.

Granted, it was a made for TV production, but it sure got me excited for the new season in the new ballpark!

Go Indians! and then, Go ROX!

I'm with 506 on continuity. Maybe that's why I'm a fan of Charlie and Dave: I know what I'll be getting each night, and I like it, and I know the chances are good I'll be getting the same thing tomorrow night and next year. There's a comfort level there.

I've also grown very attached to Charlie and Dave. I hope they come back.

Bring back Charlie and Dave!

Ladson report Torii Hunter wants to come to DC, I doubt we'll shell out that kinda cash though to get him here, right?

I highly recommend today's Sheinin piece. My favorite line, though...

'"Why should we panic?" Ramirez said. " . . . We're just going to go play the game, and move on. If it doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like the end of the world or something."

'...Manny being Manny? Or Manny being Nietzsche? '

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702157.html

The Build It Bigger episode on the new stadium will air again on Discovery on Oct 30th at 10am.

Torii Hunter would fill a gap that needs filling (power-hitting outfielder), at least in the short term. And he sounds like he's interested in promoting baseball to D.C. youth, which is something that's sorely needed.

It would be interesting to see if the Nats could work a deal with him in the $10 million range for a season or two. If Hunter is as good a promoter as I'd like to hope, part of the deal could be chalked up to PR, which could pay welcome dividends.

unfortunately, guys like Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones and Aaron Rowand will be asking for multi-year contracts (5-8 year contracts). I don't see the Nats locking in to that long of a contract for anybody right now.

BTW ... I believe that Jon Miller didn't leave because he didn't want to work for Angelos, he was fired by Angelos for not being more of a 'homer' on the air for the O's. Miller commented about the plusses and minuses of the O's on air and that irked Angelos so much that he fired Miller.

There was a very cool segment in there about RFK. It showed the process for transforming the stadium from soccer to baseball alignment.

If you have Discovery HD Theater, it reairs at the following dates/times:

10/18 - 4:00 PM
10/20 - 7:00 AM
10/21 - 1:00 PM
10/27 - 1:00 PM

============================

The Build It Bigger episode on the new stadium will air again on Discovery on Oct 30th at 10am.

Posted by: G-town | October 18, 2007 09:30 AM

RE: Ladson's article on Hunter

As I read that I had the following thoughts:

1 - Nice to hear the Nationals mentioned as a place of interest by a marquee free agent. Quite a change from the days when we couldn't keep our own FA's due to the uncertainty surrounding the team.

2 - Hunter's reasons for interest sound genuine and make a plausible reason to get your hopes up just a little bit. But...

3 - We've all heard the team's stance on big $$$ FA's.

4 - He mentioned Atlanta a few times too many.

I don't understand the affection for Carpenter. He makes mistakes identifying Nationals players during game situations, whines about the Nationals doing this or that, has no sense of humor, and did not work well with Sutton. Their ability to play off one another and keep my interest was zero. I watch the games with Slowes and Jaggler on the radio.

It sounded like Ladson just called Hunter up and said "hey, what do you think about playing for the Nationals?".

I don't know that any free agent would ever say anything substantially different than what Hunter did under those circumstances.

If nothing else, it never hurts in negotiating to create the illusion that you just might go anywhere.

It's nice that he's buddies with da Meat and all that, but let's face it, he's going to go where the $$$ are.

Howard Johnson: Y'know, Nietzsche says: "Out of chaos comes order."
Olson Johnson: Oh, blow it out your ***, Howard. ...

Sure, Torii Hunter is big friends with Dmitri and would love to come to the Nationals because of that. But you know what? He's an even bigger friend of the Georges, Abes, Alexanders, Andrews and Benjamins of the world. He's going to want a network of those guys following him around for a good few years, like in those Verizon commercials. He's going to want a lot of those guys around him at all times, enough probably to fill an entire stadium - and most of them had better be Benjamins, not Georges or Abes. The Nats have a George and an Abe, and those two guys can clean up in the Presidents Race night after night. But will they be able to attract enough clones of themselves, along with enough Alexanders, Andrews and Benjamins, to make a big enough network to entice Torii here to hang out with his good friend Dmitri? I would say probably not. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, either.

Nice post, 419! I agree, BTW.

New post

The question is whether anyone but the Yankees would commit to a five-year-plus contract for Hunter. It's not clear to me that he projects well at the end of that timeframe (or at the beginning, for that matter); probably not as well as Jones, but probably better than Rowand, who I bet will stay a Phillie.

As for Atlanta, I can't fathom what Frank Wren is cooking up there. Granted, they could probably pick up Hunter for half of what Jones would have cost. But if the Braves FO is going to be as tight-fisted as they say, would they get into a bidding war for Hunter's services? And with whom?

tofu-dog, I don't understand your affection for tofu.

Tofu-dog, you sound like a carnivore to me, grinding your bloody ax on Mr. Bob Carpenter, our beloved TV play by play guy and an obviously decent man. Not very herbivourous of you.

I've said before that I couldn't imagine Nats radio without Charlie and Dave, and I wasn't sure I'd want to. That was after I'd listened to them throughout the past two seasons, but before I listened to the division series and the NLCS games on MLB.com. When I listened to MLB.com, I found out I was right -- I wouldn't want to imagine Nats broadcasts without Charlie and Dave.

Everybody described action, like "that ball was hit up the middle, a base hit". Some of the other teams were better at reviewing the situation mid-inning (i.e. bottom of the 5th, 2-1 Boston, 2 out, Ortiz at second), so I knew the situation, I wouldn't mind hearing that more often from Charlie and Dave. But Charlie and Dave describe the batter's stance, pitcher's wind up and delivery, the placement of fielders and where the catcher set up. With them, what I hear lets me see the game.

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